I love that the gospel is so simple and real. God loves us so much! It's as though He has purposed to leave us love notes everywhere. Wherever we open our hearts to see and hear Him, He is there.

If we learn to listen, we will hear His voice calling each one of us. But how do we find our way to the secret place where God abides?

Today, many great ministries have taught us how to be prayer warriors--how to pray for the lost, our schools, our cities and our nation. Yet, many of us lack a sense of the closeness and intimacy with God we crave.

Many of us don't know how to find God in our prayer time. With all our understanding about God's awesome power, it's as if we've lost sight of God Himself and His longing to be intimate with us.

If we want to find God in our everyday experiences and sense His real presence throughout all life's struggles and joys, we must learn about a kind of prayer few of us understand. I am speaking about the prayer of inner quiet.

In the psalms, we discover long lists of God's amazing attributes and His great and mighty acts. We read: "You are the God who performs miracles; You display Your power among the peoples. With Your mighty arm You redeemed Your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph" (Ps. 77:14-15, NIV).

We get into the pace of those words and imagine a God who is always on the move. Unfortunately, we often miss an all-important instruction--"selah"--which means pause a minute and calmly think about what you've just read.

Although we often complain about our demanding, stressed-out lives, most of us have become accustomed to the frantic pace. We're afraid that if we stop suddenly, the whirlwind of promises we've made and responsibilities we've picked up will overtake us from behind.

In truth, we have created these high-pressured lives. But at the same time we have a desire to retreat to the quiet sanctuary where God abides.

No matter how busy or stressed you've been, you can learn how to enter the secret place with God and know His real presence every day. However, changing your lifestyle is going to take time. And you will need to know how to wait on God.

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Although God is always present with us, coming into His secret place is one thing you cannot hurry. Be patient. You'll find your way to the secret place with God if you learn to take the time.

GOD CAN MAKE A WAYSome years ago, my husband, Jim, came home fired up after being at a fantastic Christian conference. He could hardly sit down. "God was so great!" he kept saying. "This amazing thing happened, and that miracle took place."

All the while I was thinking, Please! Don't tell me another word. At the time, we were between houses, living with our four kids in someone else's basement.

Every ounce of energy and focus was going to the kids. I was hungry to be with God but didn't have time to go off on a weekend retreat.

When Jim left the room I leaned my head against the wall and cried. I felt desperate because it seemed that I could do nothing to find a spare minute to be alone with God.

Just then the Lord came to me, and in that still, small voice inside He said: "Michal Ann, I'm God of the impossible. What's impossible for you is not impossible for Me. I'm going to start coming and visiting you in the night season."

I wasn't sure I understood what He meant. But night after night I began to dream, and in this way, God came wooing.

We went on long walks down country lanes, and God told me about the preciousness of my life and revealed how cherished I am. I was given a gift of seeing myself through His loving eyes.

Yes, I believe these dreams were unusual. God had a specific way of revealing His love to me at that time, and He has a very special way to reveal Himself to you, too.

Even though you may feel as if your schedule is too full and you can't squeeze out an additional moment, God Himself can make a way. He's looking for the tiniest opening in your day or your night, when He can make His wonderful presence known in a unique way in your life.

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